GOLDEN, Colo., Oct. 27, 2011 – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration recently announced $1 million in grant funds to eight organizations, including Colorado School of Mines, that provide education and training within the mining industry.

Mines will receive $91,000 to develop realistic computer simulations to train mine managers and staff for mine emergencies, train and evaluate incident commanders and support staff, and train underground search and rescue teams and fresh air base personnel to make decisions based on real-time information and hazard recognition.

The Brookwood-Sago grants program was established through a provision in the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006. This funding will be used to develop and implement training and related materials for mine emergency preparedness, as well as for the prevention of accidents in underground mines.

The grants were named in remembrance of 13 men who died in two explosions at the Jim Walter Resources Inc. No. 5 Mine in Brookwood, Ala., in 2001, and 12 men who died in an explosion at the Sago Mine in Tallsmanville, W.Va., in 2006.